10 ways to tell...

The quarter turn that kills

“A continuous guideline to open water…”What does that mean? What should it mean? Regardless of who publishes them, cave diver training materials and standards will have some sort of reference to “maintaining a continuous guideline to open water” — or words to that effect. But what this means depends on who you ask.(more…)

You may be cave diving in north-central Florida this weekend after all. As of today, most of the region’s popular cave systems are either open or about to open. The only exceptions are Devil’s Eye and Ear, and (possibly) Little River. And, according to Ginnie’s Facebook page, they are shooting for opening this coming Tuesday, September 26.

Few topics seem to generate more confusion among divers and instructors than Respiratory Minute Volume, better known as RMV, and Surface Air Consumption rate, commonly referred to as SAC rate. This article will tell you what you need to know in simple, easy-to-understand language.

You can sum up most of what divers need to do to be safe under water in just six simple rules. While there is certainly a lot more that divers should know, it is these six things that can help you avoid most accidents. Not only that, these rules can help make diving easier and a whole lot more enjoyable.

The other day, I got an interesting comment on a photo I posted way back in December. The photo (shown below) is a still-frame capture from a You Tube video. The video was actually pretty good, showing both diving and a specific destination in a positive light. Unfortunately, that’s not what many viewers are going to remember.

Author Michael Menduno, who first coined the term technical diving, is also known for the following quote: Every dive is a decompression dive; every dive is a solo dive. This is likely one of the truest statements in diving.

Last week I posted an article on the bitter realities of risk management for dive instructors. A large part of that article was devoted to paperwork and, in particular, the vital importance of getting students to complete the Medical History form accurately and honestly. Shortly afterward. an instructor from — well, we’ll just say “somewhere out west” — contacted me with a story of stupidity so unbelievable it boggles the mind.

Lawsuits are something you expect to happen to The Other Guy. Certainly not to you. You’re a good instructor. You teach responsibly and follow standards. Your students love you and would never dream of actually suing you. And, in your fantasy world, peace and harmony abound, and every child gets a pony. Yeah…right.

If you cave dive, it’s almost inevitable that one day, for any of a variety of reasons, you may be forced to leave a reel in the cave that you hadn’t intended to. It’s usually because you were not able to make a subsequent dive during which you planned to retrieve a primary or jump reel you installed on a previous dive. This could be because a team member wasn’t feeling up to it physically, or perhaps an equipment malfunction prevented you from diving. Whatever the reason, it’s important that you not simply leave the reel without telling anyone and have a plan for its removal.

This article is aimed specifically at dive retailers, instructors and anyone else who sells or recommends equipment to students. Its message is simple: The kind of snorkel we’re generally recommending or selling to beginning scuba divers is absolutely, positively the worst kind for them to buy. And we’ll tell you why.